Sen. Murkowski urges nominee to prioritize meaningful consultation and back Alaska’s STEC pilot

Senator Murkowski pressed a witness at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to prioritize consultation with tribal representatives and to support a pilot program in Alaska that would create State Tribal Education Compact (STEC) schools.

Murkowski said Alaska has "the greatest number of Indian tribes in any state," and noted that in the last reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act she included language requiring "states and school districts to engage in meaningful consultation with tribal representatives." She told the nominee that, in practice, she has not seen the level of engagement Congress intended since 2017 and urged the administration to take the requirement seriously.

Murkowski described the Alaska pilot as creating STEC schools through compacts with tribes: "This would effectively... be public schools that are open to all students to offer culturally relevant educational models," she said, and asked the witness to advocate for additional federal support as the state moves forward.

Dr. Schwinn, the witness, told the committee staff had provided her some information and said she "look[s] forward to working with your office" and would follow up if confirmed. "I will go ahead and say that your staff gave me a little bit of information and gave me some information to follow-up on if I'm so confirmed," she said, and congratulated Alaska on the innovation.

The exchange focused on whether federal departments are adequately implementing ESSA’s consultation requirements and on practical support for the STEC pilot. The witness indicated willingness to engage further with Senator Murkowski’s office and to seek additional information about the pilot should she be confirmed.